Media Mentors
Youth Narrative Ownership in the “757”
Youth in the “757” better known as Hampton Roads, VA, were positioned as consumers of media rather than owners of narrative capital.
Filmmaking became a tool for place based authorship, connecting local Black history to entrepreneurial skill building and economic participation. Story shifted from deficit framing of region to asset-based cultural production.
Key Findings
Hampton Roads is home to the historic East End Cemetery, one of the nation’s largest African burial grounds, that residents have labored to restore over the last decade.
While 94% of teens believe schools should teach media literacy, only 39% received such instruction in 2023-24.
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